Fan.



No. 757,774. PATBNTBD APR. 19, 1904.

F. N. ROEHRIGH.

FAN.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18 1903. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS BHEBT 1.

PATENTBD APR. 19, 1904.

F. N. ROEHRIOH.

FAN.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 S ETS-SHEET 2.

Hy. 7 9- il Lfifilh '7/ il'a; .1: .F

my! "a lllllll UNITED STATES FRANK N. ROEHRICH,

Patented April 19, 1904.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,774, dated April 19, 1904.

Application filed April 16 1903- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK N. BoEHRIoH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fans,of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to fans of that class in which a rotary movement is imparted to the fan-blades by a suitable motor, preferably an electric motor.

The object of the invention is to produce an effective distribution of the blast of air by causing the fan-blades to oscillate through a given are.

To accomplish the stated object of the invention, the shaft of the fan-motor of any wellknown type is connected to the blade-shaft by means of a flexible coupling, whereby the axial lines of said shafts may be thrown out of line with each other. In the particular embodiment of my invention herein illustrated the fan-blade shaft is supported in a suitable yoke or frame free to swing in the arc of a circle, such movement being effected positively through gearing driven by the motor-shaft. The motor casing or support remains stationar y, the only movement imparted to the motorshaft being a rotary one, the flexible connection above referred to permitting the fanblade shaft to be swung in an are, so that its axial line is one side or the other of the motor-shaft.

The principle of my invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fan embodying one form of my improvement. Fig.

Serial No. 152,880. (No nodel.)

The shaft 5 of the fan-blades is connected to shaft 2 of the motor by any suitable form of flexible or universal coupling, by which it transmits not only the desired rotary 'motion to the fan-blades, but also permits the shaft 5 to be thrown out of line with the fixed rotary shaft 2 or, in other words, to permit the fanblade shaft to be swung in the arc of a circle about the end of shaft 2.

The connection shown consists of a universal joint formed of two sections 6 and 8, connected, respectively, to heads fixed on the opposing ends of said shafts 5 and 2. The arms comprising the said sections are shown as arranged in planes at right angles to each other and are attached, by means of screws 7 to a plate or disk 7, of leather, light steel, or other suitable material, which will permit the shaft 5 to be deflected or swung to one side or the other of the axis of the shaft 2. It is to be understood that I have only attempted to show a common form of coupling, for it is obvious that any other or well-known coupling may be employed to accomplish the same purpose without departing from the spirit of my invention.

As before stated, the yoke 13, which carries the fan-blade shaft 5, is pivotally supported on studs 14. In order to oscillate the shaft 5, and with it the fan-blades on the pivots 14, I construct the forward projecting end of the shaft 2 in the form of a worm 9, which worm-meshes with the wheel 10, rigidly secured on a switch-cam 11, the shaft 11 of said wheel and cam having bearings in brackets 16, secured to the motor-casing. In the camgroove 12 rests a follower 17 on or near one end of a lever 18, said lever being clamped by a nut, as shown, to a stud 19, which stud is rotatably mounted in a block 22, as hereinafter described. The other end of lever 18 carries a stud 20, which engages a slot or groove 21 in the yoke 13. i

It is obvious from the above description that the rotary motion of shaft 2 will be imparted to the shaft through the flexible coupling and simultaneous therewith the shaft 5, and consequently the blades 3, will be oscillated positively in the arc of a circle by the action of switch-cam 11 on the lever 18. In the position shown in Figs. 3 to 5 the follower 17 rests in that portion of the cam-groove 12 which brings the fan-blades to a central position. The worm 9 and wheel 10 rotate the switch-cam 11 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5, and when the portion 12 of the cam-groove reaches the follower 17 the blades will be at the extreme left, as seen when standing in front of the fan, and when the portion 12 of the cam reaches said follower the blades will be at the extreme right of their travel-that is, one complete revolution of the switch cam 11 will carry the. fan blades through two complete oscillations. Thelength of'the arc traveled by the blades is governed by the position of the fulcrum of lever 18. In order tovary the throw of said lever, and consequently the length of the arc of travel, I

support the stud 19 in a block or carriage 22, resting upon a bracket 23, fixed to the motorframe. lever 18 is similarly slotted at 18', carriage 22 being adjustable along said bracket and lever in said slots by means of a screw 24 upon loosening the clamping-nut on stud 19. The stud 19 is clamped to lever 18 after its adjustment to the desired position. By such means the lengths of the arms of lever 18 may be varied and the arc of oscillation of the blades increased or diminished, as may be desired.

It willbe noted that in the construction above described the motor-frame remains stationary at all times and that a rotary movement only is imparted to the motor-shaft. The function of the rotating motor-shaft is to impart both a rotary and an oscillating movement to the fanblades. The intermittent shifting in opposite directions of the fanblades, so as to throw the axial line of, the fan-blade shaft to one side of the axial line of the. motor-shaft first in one direction and then in the other, is effected in a direct and positive manner by the rotation of the motor-shaft. As the fan-blades move in the arc of a circle, their direction is constantly changing thro ughout the length of their travel.

My invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, as it is obvious that many changes may be made in the details of construction without departure from the spirit or principle of the invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A fan comprising a motor-shaft, a fanblade shaft, a flexible coupling connection be- Said bracket is slotted at 23, and the tween said shafts and automatic means for shifting the axis of the fan-blade'shaft out of 1 line with the motor-shaft.

2. A fan comprising a motor having a rotary shaft, fan-blades supported on a suitable shaft, a flexible coupling connection between said shafts, and means actuated by said motorshaft to impart rotary and oscillating movements to the fan-blade shaft.

3. A fan comprising a motor having a rotary shaft, fan-blades supported on a suitable shaft, a flexible coupling connection between said shafts, and means actuated by the motor shaft to impart a continuous rotary movement and also oscillating movements in opposite di-, rections to the fan-blade shaft.

4. In a fan the combination of a motor having a fixed support and comprising a rotary shaft, fan-blades supported on a suitable shaft and means to throw the axial line of the fanblade shaft to one side of the axial line of the motor-shaft.

5. The combination of a motor having a rotary shaft, a movable yoke, a rotary fan-blade shaft having bearings in said yoke, and means for shifting said yoke to throw the axial line of the blade-shaft to one side of the motorshaft.

6. The combination of a motor having a fixed support and comprising a rotary shaft, a movable yoke, a fan having bearings in said yoke and means actuated by said motor-shaft to impart a rotary movement to the fan and simultaneously therewith an oscillating movement to said movable yoke.

7 In a fan the combination of a motor having a rotary shaft, a pivoted yoke, a fan-blade shaft supported in said yoke, a flexible coupling connection between said shafts, and automatic means for intermittent shifting of said yoke to cause it to travel over an arc abou the end of the motor-shaft.

8. In a fan the combination of a motor having a rotary shaft, a pivoted yoke, a fan-blade shaft supported in said yoke, a flexible coupling connection betweensaid shafts, a cam actuated by said motor-shaft and a connection between said cam and said yoke whereby the latter may be oscillated about the end of the motor-shaft.

9. A fan comprising a motor-shaft, a fanblade shaft, a flexible coupling connection between the two shafts, and means to simultaneously rotate and oscillate said fanblade shaft.

10. A fan comprising a motor-shaft, a rotary fan-blade shaft, and means for oscillating the fan-blade shaft relatively to the motorshaft. I

11. A fan comprising a motor mounted in a fixed or stationary support and having a rotary shaft, a rotary fan-blade shaft, and means for oscillating the fan-blade shaft relatively to the motor-shaft.

12. A fan comprising a motor mounted in a 1 blade shaft so as to throw its axial line to one side or the other of the axial line of the motorshaft.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto signed my name 1n the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK N. ROEHRICH.

Witnesses:

GRACE L. HEASLEY, Or'ro P. OSMERS. 

